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This is Osh-Tisch (left) (1854-1929), a warrior, shaman, & artist of the Crow Nation. Osh-Tisch’s name translates to “Finds Them and Kills Them”. She was a Crow badé (also spelled boté & baté), and what is sometimes called a “Two Spirit” person.
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Historically, most Native Americans tribes had a much more fluid understanding of gender than the West - many recognised 5 genders. “Two Spirit” comes from the Ojibwe ‘Niizh Manidoowag’, but every tribe had their own terminology. https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/two-spirits-one-heart-five-genders-9UH_xnbfVEWQHWkjNn0rQQ
The Navajo used “Nádleehí”, meaning ‘one who is transformed’. The Lakota said “Winkté”, meaning a male who wishes to be female. The Cheyenne said “Hemaneh”, meaning half man, half woman. The Otoe said Mixo'ge, meaning ‘instructed by the moon’.
Today, we might say Osh-Tisch was assigned male at birth, but she would have said she was a badé. The Crow term badé loosely translates to “not man, not woman.”
A badé was generally a male-bodied person in the Crow community who took part in some of the social and ceremonial roles usually filled by women in that culture. http://www.johnmolloygallery.com/names-and-roles-of-two-spirit-people-an-historical-perspective.html
There are a handful of recorded interviews with Osh-Tisch, where white men ask her why she dresses and acts like a woman. She replied she was “inclined to be a woman, never a man.” When they asked what work she did, she said, “All woman’s work.”
Osh-Tisch was celebrated among the Crow for her bravery. She was given her name after the the Battle of the Rosebud on June 17, 1876 where Osh-Tisch and another warrior called The Other Magpie attacked a Lakota war party, saving a fellow tribesman called Bull Snake.
In the 1890s, the US government stepped up programmes to assimilate & wipe out native American culture. An agent called Briskow rounded up Osh-Tisch & the other badés, & put them in jail.
Their hair was cut, they were forced to wear men’s clothing and made to perform manual labor such as planting trees https://www.nccih.ca/docs/emerging/RPT-HealthTwoSpirit-Hunt-EN.pdf
Although the Crow didn’t have much sway with the US authorities by this point, they were outraged at this treatment of the badés. The chief Pretty Eagle personally intervened and demanded Briskow leave the reservation.
In the early 1900s a Baptist missionary began to denounce Osh-Tisch from his pulpit, urging congregants to shun her and all other badés.
According to Thomas Yellow Tail, “He condemned our traditions, including the Badé. He told his congregation to stay away from Osh-Tisch & other Badés. He continued to condemn Osh-Tisch until his death. That may be the reason no others took up the Badé role after Osh-Tisch died.”
In 1919, retired U.S. Army General Hugh Scott interviewed Osh-Tisch and asked why she continued to identify as a woman, despite such hostility. She replied simply, “that is my road.”
Photographs taken in 1928 show Osh-Tisch wearing elaborately decorated clothing she had made for her own burial. She died the following year, having outlasted all efforts to force her from her "road."
Addendum: I am not a specialist in Native American history and culture, so if I have mistranslated or misrepresented any aspect of that culture, my DMs are open. I am very happy to add corrections if needed. X
